Mindy Tenenbaum can provide answers for dog owners who are curious about the genetic makeup of their pets.

DNA My Dog launched a unique service in Toronto six years ago, providing DNA testing for canines to customers around the globe.

Tenenbaum, who was already involved in canine rescue in the Greater Toronto Area, saw the potential for a business that offered a simple test for curious dog owners.

“In one word, the primary motivation on top of everything else is curiosity,” Tenenbaum said. “A large majority of our customers have adopted their dogs from an animal shelter or from a rescue and they’ve no idea what the dog (is) … and they just want to know what the breeds are in their dog.”

She noted most of her company’s orders come from North America but it has received requests for test kits from around the world.

Once an order is placed, DNAMyDog.com mails a kit ($59.99 plus tax and variable shipping costs) that includes polyester swabs and envelopes. It also contains instructions on collecting a dog’s DNA by swabbing the inside of the animal’s mouth.

“They go into our lab and we extract the DNA from the sample and we run a DNA test on it; we sequence it,” Tenenbaum explained. “And then we run the results through our database of known breeds. We have a test that matches by percentage all of the breeds that were found in the dog.”

The results — available on a certificate that her company mails to customers — often surprise dog owners, she said.

“We also have a lot of people, unfortunately, who buy dogs from questionable sources,” Tenenbaum said. “They get it tested and find out it’s not that breed or it’s a mix of breeds.”

Having a better idea of the breeds that make up a dog can help an owner ensure their pet receives the best veterinary care, she added.

“It’s really good for your vet to know that, to look out for some of the generic health risks better associated with that breed.”

The company has done non-profit tests for shelters and rescues, as well.

The Windsor-Essex County Humane Society began using the test a few times a year, beginning around 2008.

Executive director Melanie Coulter said the shelter normally uses the test to see if a dog is a restricted breed.

“DNA My Dog has been beneficial because there have been several situations where, if a dog were a restricted breed, they would not be legal to adopt out in Ontario, and we would have had to send them out of province to find homes,” she said in an e-mail. “We are happy to have that option, but it is very expensive. Instead, if we test a dog and the dominant breed isn’t a restricted one, then our vet is able to designate them as legal to be adopted here.”

Coulter has used the tests on her own dogs, as well.

“All my dogs are mixed breeds, but it’s interesting to know some of the breeds that are in their history,” she said.